Silver Lining
by Pysche
Summary: COMPLETE As a prank, Yami is forced to confess his feelings for Seto while under control of the Sennen Rod. But nobody expected Seto to return those feelings. SetoYami BakuraMalik
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

* * *

Chapter 1

Malik had sometimes heard that love was simply a way to make miserable people even more miserable than they already were, and lately he had begun to believe it. He supposed it was his own fault, for falling in love with someone who couldn't possibly do anything _but_ make him miserable… but still. He couldn't help it. The blond ex-Tomb Keeper had, without his consent or control, fallen for the sadistic Tomb Robber, Bakura, and was now suffering the exquisite torture of impossible, unrequited love.

Not that he had confessed of course; nor did he ever plan to. Malik knew it would never work – and that Bakura would never return his feelings – so why should he bother? Instead he planned to sit, mope, and wallow in his misery.

Unless, perhaps, he could drag someone down with him.

Now there was a thought. Love might be misery, but misery was petty and vindictive, or however the saying went. If he could make someone else suffer, Malik might feel a little bit better about his own pathetic plight. Plus it sounded like something Bakura would do, and wouldn't he be impressed if he ever found out? He would get that wicked gleam in his dark eyes, and grin just _so_, and tell Malik how wonderfully clever he was, and how incredibly gorgeous and sexy…

Well, a guy could always hope.

This goal in mind, Malik fingered the ever-useful Sennen Rod at his belt and sat back to consider his plan.

**456456456**

"Yugi, I'm going to the store. Do you need anything?"

The shorter, tri-color-haired duelist stuck his head out from around the corner where he'd been sorting boxes of the latest cards and arranging them for display. "Um, I think we may be out of milk." His head disappeared back around the doorway. "But, uh, I'm not sure… Ooh, this card is cool. Wonder if Jiichan'll let me have it…"

Yami laughed quietly and shook his head, slipping on a matching black jacket over his usual sleeveless top before walking out the door. "I'll get some. See you later, Aibou."

"Bye Yami! Ooh look at this one…"

Automatically reaching to adjust the familiar weight of the Puzzle around his neck, Yami tugged the jacket tighter against his chest when he remembered it wasn't there. Ever since he had been able to physically manifest himself outside of Yugi, the Sennen Puzzle – and its power – had largely remained with his partner, where Yami readily admitted it belonged, though he missed its presence more than he could say.

Shrugging off his thoughts, Yami proceeded to the grocery store, passing an outdoor café on the way where a familiar blond head leaned over a coffee cup, staring into its depths as if it held all the world's secrets. As Yami passed him the blond looked up, his violet eyes meeting Yami's crimson, and smiled faintly at the ex-Pharaoh. "Malik," Yami acknowledged, nodding and waving at the teen. Malik nodded in return and the spiky-haired teen continued on his way, humming under his breath and never noticing the way Malik's faint smile grew into an enormous, wicked smirk.

**456456456**

Perfect! He was just perfect! Causing trouble for the Pharaoh would not only assuage Malik's own misery, it would put Bakura on his good side as well. Though Bakura might be a little disappointed that he wasn't the one behind Yami's misery, he could at least admire the work of his former co-conspirator and take pleasure in the fact that Yami was suffering. But what could Malik do? He could use the Rod, of course; a little mind control was always fun… but how? What was the absolute worst, nastiest thing he could do?

What would Bakura do?

Bakura… of course! Malik was suffering because of his love life, so why not mess with the Pharaoh's? Yes. That was perfect. That was exactly what he would do. Since Malik had to deal with the pain of rejection, Yami should have to be rejected as well. Malik could control his mind – fairly easily, in fact, since he didn't wear the Sennen Puzzle anymore – and send Yami off to confess to someone who would break his heart and throw it in the gutter. Malik's pain would seem like a paper cut, compared to what he had in store for the Pharaoh.

(Of course, since Yami would be under the Rod's control at the time, it wouldn't _really_ be unrequited love, but it was as close as Malik could get at the moment. Besides, it would still be incredibly embarrassing for the Pharaoh and give Malik bragging rights for at least a year. This was a really good prank, after all.)

Now the only question that remained was who to send the Pharaoh to. Who – besides Bakura, since Malik definitely didn't want to risk _that_, even for the sake of humiliating the Pharaoh – would be rude enough, spiteful and conceited enough, to laugh in Yami's face and send him running off in tears after professing his undying love and devotion?

Malik pondered for a moment, sipping his coffee and leaning back in his chair, when he noticed the top of a clover-shaped glass skyscraper from the corner of his eye. The KaibaCorp building… that was it!

Malik grinned. Before the end of the day, Yami would be confessing his love to none other than Seto Kaiba.

**456456456**

"Let's see, Aibou wanted milk…" Muttering to himself, Yami spotted the glass and grey-painted concrete walls of the supermarket just ahead of him. However, just before he reached the parking lot he suddenly froze, a dreamy sort of warmth spreading through his limbs. He was momentarily confused before the emotion vanished, replaced with a vague sensation of emptiness and the desire to turn around and walk in the opposite direction.

So Yami obeyed, spinning on one heel and briskly trotting down the street in the direction from which he had come. He passed Malik again, this time lounging against a streetlight with one hand in the pocket of his black leather pants and the other grasping the Sennen Rod at his waist. The thought struck Yami that this was rather odd, but he didn't pause to consider it or even take time to respond to the blond Egyptian's smile; it was too important for Yami to keep walking, to keep moving in this direction until he reached his destination.

He had something very important to do.

But for the life of him, he had no idea what it was.

**456456456**

Malik watched Yami hurry past him, barely casting a glance in Malik's direction, and burst out laughing. This was entirely too easy! Why had he never tried to mind-control the Pharaoh before? (Well, of course it probably wouldn't have worked anyway, when the other was sharing Yugi's body and still had the Sennen Puzzle. Plus this afternoon he had caught Yami unawares. But anyway.)

The blond wiped tears of laughter from his cheeks and made to follow Yami when a voice stopped him. The most beautiful, lovely, seductive voice in the world – as far as Malik was concerned, anyhow. "Only crazy people stand in the middle of the street and laugh at nothing, you know."

Malik whirled to face the speaker, his eyes lighting up when he saw the white-haired teen, clad in a high-collared black trenchcoat over jeans and a striped t-shirt and tucking something shiny in his pocket. "Bakura!" the blond cried joyfully before quickly composing himself. "Hmph. You're crazier than I am. Anyway, I'm not laughing at nothing."

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Blondie, I don't think _anyone_ is crazier than you."

Malik grinned and stuck out his tongue. "Don't you want to hear the details of my evil plan?"

The other looked doubtful, but just then a shrill cry rang out from across the street, "Help! I've been robbed!"

Bakura slung an arm around Malik's shoulders, practically shoving him forward in the direction Yami had gone. "Let's walk. You can tell me all about it."

"HELP! POLICE!"

Malik shot Bakura a look and the white-haired male grinned sheepishly. "Let's walk a little faster."

**456456456**

Yami continued his journey across the city as quickly as possible, the invisible urging in his mind compelling him forward faster and faster until suddenly – it was gone. The spiky-haired male looked around himself – slowly, as if his feet were the only part of him capable of rapid movement – and took in his surroundings. A few people were milling about, none of them seeming overly interested in a leather-clad teen standing motionless in the middle of the sidewalk, and the KaibaCorp building lay just ahead.

Something inside Yami twinged. He shouldn't be here… Kaiba didn't like him; it would be best to leave the CEO to—

But wait. No, this was his destination. The realization washed over him in a warm, dreamy rush. Yes, he was exactly where he was supposed to be; he needed to talk to Kaiba now. Yami's feet started moving again, a bit reluctantly at first but quickly gaining momentum as he strode confidently into KaibaCorp's main lobby and stopped at the receptionist's desk.

"Good afternoon. I need to speak with Seto Kaiba, please," he greeted, smiling.

The mousy-haired woman looked up, adjusting her designer glasses before she replied. "Do you have an appointment?"

Yami just stared at her blankly. That was not supposed to happen. He was supposed to talk to Kaiba now. He was… the faint twinge, the sense that something was _wrong_, came back to him… prickling at the back of his mind…

"Omigod, Yugi Mutou! You're Yugi Mutou, aren't you? I'm such a fan of yours! Oh, wow. Can I have an autograph?" The receptionist's entire demeanor changed, her face lighting up in excitement when she recognized him, and she pushed a scrap of paper and a pen across the desk, which Yami signed automatically, still trying to figure it out. Something was off… something wasn't right…

"Well, I'm sure he won't mind _you_ dropping by. Go on up; his is the only office on the top floor. I'll buzz ahead and let him know you're coming."

Yami nodded, granting the woman another smile before heading for the elevators, his foot tapping impatiently on the carpet during the excruciating wait for Kaiba's floor. He was so close now; he had almost, almost accomplished what he needed to do – what he _had_ to do.

Of course, Yami still didn't really know what that was.

The elevator stopped, finally, and Yami almost ran to the half-open door he knew led to Seto's office. He gave two brisk knocks on the wood, shoving the door open and stepping inside as soon as he heard the curt "Come in."

Kaiba sat behind his desk, staring at his computer screen. He wore a business suit – grey, with a tie the exact same shade of blue as his eyes – and his chestnut hair was neatly combed, perfectly trimmed so that it framed his face and fell over his forehead in the most attractive way possible. He looked good, professional, exactly the way the CEO of a multinational corporation should.

Yami stared at him blankly.

Finally, Kaiba looked up, raising an eyebrow at the vacant, slightly confused expression on his rival's face. "Yami? What do you want?" When no answer was forthcoming the CEO stood and approached the other, waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you just going to stand there? Because I have better things to do than—"

"I love you!" Yami blurted.

They both stared.

Yami blinked. There was something _wrong_; he didn't know why he said that, he didn't… but that warm, dreamy feeling was spreading all over him again, stronger than ever, making his toes and fingers tingle and his mouth open again all on its own. "I love you, Seto; I always have. You're brilliant, and wonderful, and _gorgeous_, and I couldn't go one more second without letting you know that. I want nothing more in the world than for you to throw me down on that couch and have your wicked way with me."

Seto's eyes were enormous, his mouth half-open as he gaped at Yami in disbelief. And just like that, the warmth was gone, the dreamy feeling vanishing as if it had never been and leaving Yami with the full horror of what he had just said. He turned white as a sheet, suddenly feeling faint as he stared at the other's awestruck expression. "Kaiba, I…"

But Seto shook his head, his jaw clicking shut only for his lips to spread into a massive smile. "I think that can be arranged."

**456456456**

"'_Have your wicked way with me?_'" Bakura snickered.

Malik shoved him, pushing Bakura's hand from where it had been grasping the Sennen Rod, the two teens sharing a vision of Yami's "confession" to Seto. "Shut up! It was supposed to be cheesy. But crap! Kaiba ruined it. Why didn't he humiliate the Pharaoh?"

Bakura grinned, showing the sharp tips of his canines as he replied, "Ah, but what's more humiliating than being violated by someone you don't really like? I say you take back control and let Kaiba have his 'wicked way' with his precious pharaoh," Bakura rolled his eyes, "and _then_ leave the Pharaoh to suffer."

An answering grin spread over Malik's cheeks as the blond shook his head in mock exasperation. "Oh, Bakura. You do have the most abominable ideas."

The other scooted closer to Malik as the Egyptian closed his eyes and tightened his grip on the Rod, preparing to take over Yami's mind once more, and pressed his lips lightly against Malik's ear, his hot breath tickling the hairs at the nape of Malik's neck and sending shivers down his spine. "Besides," Bakura murmured, "it'll definitely be fun to watch."

**456456456**

"Kaiba, I'm sorry I… what?" Yami stuttered, unable to believe what he'd just heard – let alone what he just _said_. What was going on, anyway?

Seto laughed, his brilliant blue eyes seeming to sparkle as he answered, "I said, that can be arranged. I should have figured you would go for shock value when you finally admitted how you felt about me. Though honestly, knowing you, I expected you to manipulate me into admitting my feelings first."

Yami just stared at him. What the…? Was Kaiba on crack? "Kaiba, what are you saying?" he asked, taking a step backward.

The other followed, lifting a hand to cup Yami's chin in his palm. "You can call me Seto, you know."

Yami raised his arm to bat the hand away – but suddenly that empty feeling came back, a warm buzz with a stronger desire to _move_ than he had ever felt before, the urge to stretch up on his tiptoes and tilt his face just _so _until…

With a slight jolt of shock Yami realized that he and Kaiba were kissing, that he had wrapped his arms around the brunet's neck and tugged him down to meet his lips and oh _god_ was that Kaiba's tongue? His tongue and his teeth and just his _mouth_, and again Yami felt that something was wrong about this but it felt so good, so good that he pulled tighter on the CEO's neck, until Seto let out a groan of protest.

But instead of letting go Yami gave a little hop and wrapped his legs around Seto's waist, forcing the other to stumble back a few steps and grab the smaller male's rear to keep him from falling. Yami gasped when he felt those hands cupping his rear, teasingly kneading the flesh as Seto smirked into their still unbroken kiss. Then they were moving, backward, slowly, a few small steps at a time as the brunet tried to balance both their weights – while still making out with Yami and feeling him up – until they fell backward onto the black leather couch at the back of Seto's office.

Yami straddled Seto's legs, kissing him languidly for a few moments until the CEO switched their positions, flipping Yami over so that he lay on top of the smaller male, kissing him all over his neck and running his hands along Yami's torso. Eventually he paused, just for a moment, letting out a long sigh and burying his face in the crook of Yami's neck and shoulder.

"Love you… God, Yami, I love you so much…"

**456456456**

Bakura chuckled, his mouth still resting somewhere near Malik's chin – and causing the blond to shiver from suppressed pleasure. "Well what do you know, Blondie? This is turning out even better than I thought."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

**A/n**: Someone mentioned my line breaks were a bit confusing last time, so I've centered them. That should make it look a little nicer. I do get tired of manually putting the lines back in on ffnet though; thus the reason for my lazy shortcuts.

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Chapter 2

"Seto, I want you," Yami breathed, gazing up at the brunet above him through half-lidded eyes and shifting his hips meaningfully against the other's.

Seto smiled again and gave Yami another soft kiss on the lips – then sat back and moved away. "I want you, too," he replied, "but it would probably be best to take things slow. I don't want to rush you into anything."

Yami lay there in silence for a moment, no immediate compulsions in the emptiness that filled his mind, until suddenly his mouth opened again. "Very well. I know the day you make love to me will be the most precious day of my life."

The other blinked but smiled wider and let out a low chuckle, holding open his arms for Yami to crawl into them and curl up in his lap, dropping intermittent kisses along Seto's jaw line. After a few minutes Seto sighed. "Not that I want you to go," he said grudgingly, "but I still have a lot of work to finish. Tomorrow's Sunday… I'll pick you up, early, and we can spend the whole day together."

"That sounds wonderful," Yami replied automatically. "It's a date."

**456456456**

"I swear, Malik, your lines get stupider every second," Bakura grumbled, rolling his eyes. The two were headed toward Bakura's apartment – which he shared with his other half, Ryou – to regroup and decide what to do with their prank on Yami.

"Shut up! It was _romantic_. Besides, Kaiba loved it."

"Yeah, whatever. Those two are a couple of idiots anyhow. Leave it to the Pharaoh and Kaiba to ruin everything. They quit before it even got close to being interesting because Kaiba had to be _romantic_," Bakura sneered.

"Romance is nice sometimes," Malik mumbled under his breath as they entered the apartment, but if the other heard he made no sign, merely grabbing Malik's wrist and dragging him down onto the sofa beside him.

"I got all worked up, too, watching those two on the couch." Bakura leered at Malik and nodded toward his crotch. "How about it, Blondie? Care to fix my 'problem?'"

And so Malik gave him a half-smile and crawled into the other's lap, straddling Bakura and grinding against him until he moaned, his pale hands sliding under Malik's purple midriff top and tweaking his nipples. The blond sighed, his violet eyes slipping closed in pleasure even as his heart ached. This was why Bakura would never love him; he made it far too easy for the white-haired teen, always let Bakura enjoy his body though doing so was breaking his heart.

This wasn't the first time they'd fooled around – not the second or third either – though Malik had never let it get any farther than this grinding and touching, these mock-affectionate caresses that let Malik pretend like they meant something more, that felt better and more horrible than anything the blond had ever experienced. Touches that he wouldn't trade for the world.

Bakura's hands slid below Malik's waistband and he bit his lip to keep from yelling. Yami didn't know how lucky he was; Malik would have given anything for Bakura to feel about him the way Kaiba did for Yami. And the stupid Pharaoh didn't even appreciate it.

"Kura," Malik gasped, "let's stop this joke on the Pharaoh. It's not turning out like I planned at all."

Bakura's sharp teeth bit down at the junction of the blond's neck and collarbone and he sucked on it for a moment before he answered. "No. We need to wait it out until they have sex. Then we can sit back and watch them suffer."

"But…" Malik moaned as the other male's tongue returned to his neck. "But Kaiba really… he really loves him."

"That just makes it more fun. Mmm, Blondie, you smell good today."

Malik squeezed his eyes shut tight and buried his fingers in the other's long white hair. "Bakura… Oh, Kura…"

**456456456**

"Yami, is that you? You were gone a long time; did you remember to get milk?"

The spiky-haired ex-Pharaoh glanced briefly at his smaller look-alike before walking past him and heading up the stairs to his room. He felt the overwhelming desire to stay there and not talk to anyone until Seto came to pick him up the next morning.

Yugi followed him. "Yami, are you alright? Yami?"

The other didn't answer, instead shutting his bedroom door and sitting down on the bed, though he didn't object when Yugi sat beside him. "Yami…? You're starting to scare me."

Yugi's eyes were very wide. Yami noticed this. And something, very small, in the very back of his mind, told him this wasn't a good thing at all. He spoke, though the words seemed stuck at the back of his throat and his lips wouldn't move quite right. "Ai…bou…"

The smaller teen reached out and took his hand, sucking in a deep breath before asking calmly, "Yami, what happened at the store?"

Yami regarded him thoughtfully. Yugi's eyes were still very big. He looked frightened. That was a bad thing, definitely. The tiny spot in the back of Yami's mind gave a painful twinge and suddenly it was easier to speak, though by the time he'd said the words he had already forgotten what they meant. "Shadow… Shadow Magic."

Yugi's violet eyes grew impossibly larger and his hand traveled to the heavy chain around his neck which held the Sennen Puzzle. "Shadow Magic? From who? Do you need the Puzzle?"

The pain was gone and the emptiness slowly returning to Yami's mind. He shook his head. "Yours."

"But… Yami, what's going on? Are you in trouble?"

He felt blank. This bothered him a little, since it seemed like there was something important he should say. But no… he shouldn't be saying anything at all; after all he had something important he had to do. "I'm waiting for Seto."

"Huh?"

"I'm waiting for Seto. I love him. He loves me too, did you know?"

"What… Wait, Seto _Kaiba_?"

"We're going on a date tomorrow. So I have to wait for him." And Yami lay down on the bed, curling up and closing his eyes to sleep until the morning brought his love back to him.

Yugi's wide-eyed, open-mouthed stare was the last thing he saw.

**456456456**

Malik woke the next morning with a massive headache. He blinked drowsily a few times, looking around in confusion at his surroundings until he remembered he'd spent the night on Bakura's sofa. (Alone, unfortunately; though honestly even if the other had offered Malik couldn't have borne sleeping next to Bakura all night… or waking up beside him the next morning.)

The blond sat up and groaned, pushing the fleece blanket covering him to the floor and adjusting the waistband on the pair of baggy cotton pajama pants he'd borrowed from Ryou as he rose, intent on a much needed trip to the bathroom. But before Malik could take a step his head throbbed viciously and he sank back down onto the couch, rubbing his temples.

"Are you… Mmm… Sorry, are you alright?" a voice asked, pausing in the middle to yawn. Malik glanced up without raising his head to see Ryou stumble into the living room, rubbing his eyes.

"Headache," he muttered briefly.

"Oh. Well would you like some aspirin?" the other replied, sounding more awake now.

"Yeah, thanks," Malik mumbled, hearing Ryou's footsteps retreat as the Egyptian went back to massaging his temples. He didn't even notice the other presence in the room until the cushion beside him sank, causing Malik's body to tilt until his thigh rested against the other person's leg. Not bothering to open his eyes – which had slipped closed at some point during his vain quest for relief from the pounding inside his skull – Malik greeted him. "Hey Bakura."

"Headache, huh?"

"It takes a lot of energy to keep control of someone's mind for so long, especially a mind as strong as the Pharaoh's. I tried to keep the commands simple but it's still difficult."

"I see."

Malik finally opened his eyes and glanced at Bakura, only to see the other staring back at him under half-lidded eyes, his slim, pale figure clad only in boxers and sprawled lazily on the couch, both his arms stretched out along the back of the sofa. "Are we going to follow the Pharaoh and Kaiba today?" Malik questioned.

The white-haired male didn't answer right away – just kept staring levelly at Malik through those half-open, chocolate-brown eyes. When he finally spoke, all he said was, "You've never been here in the morning before." Then he reached out and pulled the blond toward him, burying his nose in Malik's hair. "God, Blondie, how do you smell so _good_?"

Malik suddenly felt as if he had swallowed a thousand butterflies, with the way his insides were squirming and turning flips. Bakura had almost sounded… well, romantic. But Bakura was never romantic, never even really friendly. Probably the closest way to describe his and Malik's relationship would be reluctant allies who occasionally fool around – but this…

He shouldn't get his hopes up. The thief was probably just after a little bit of early morning action.

"Ugh, Bakura, can't you keep your hands to yourself for five minutes?" Ryou had reappeared in the doorway, holding a glass of water and aspirin and wrinkling his nose in disgust at his taller look-alike.

"Morning, Ryou. Hey, you're sexy; you want to join us?"

Bakura moved away from him and Malik sighed. He really should have known.

**456456456**

At precisely 7:28 in the morning, Yami's eyes shot open and he climbed out of bed, the desire to get ready for Seto buzzing in his mind. He went through his morning routine simply enough, only hesitating when he opened his closet. Seto hadn't said where they would go, so what should he wear? In the end he went the safe route and chose his usual attire, black boots and pants, black sleeveless shirt and buckled collar. Add a few armbands and a couple of belts with large silver buckles, as well as a large dose of eyeliner around his blood-colored eyes, and Yami was dressed for any occasion. As usual.

He then moved downstairs to sit by the door and wait for Seto. Yugi was there, saying something, but this morning Yami didn't pay attention. The buzzing in his mind was too strong – he needed to wait for Seto. He _had_ to.

Twenty minutes later, at exactly 8:52, there was a knock on the door and Yami had answered it before Yugi could even climb to his feet. He opened the door, smiling brightly, and immediately climbed onto his tiptoes and wrapped his arms around the other's neck, pulling Seto down for a vigorous kiss in greeting.

The sound of Yugi's bewildered spluttering at the sight faded as Yami broke away from Seto with a smile and pulled the door shut behind him. "So, where are we going?" he asked, taking the brunet's hand in his.

But Seto was frowning, staring at the closed door. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm sure it's nothing important. Let's go!" Yami tugged on his hand in an attempt to pull the other toward the sleek silver Jaguar parked on the curb, but the brunet only followed a few steps before stopping again, his frown deepening.

"Don't you care?"

The smaller male laughed. "Well sure, but I'm eager to get started with our date. Aren't you?"

"Yes of course, but…" Seto paused, staring intently into Yami's eyes for a moment before continuing slowly. "You're always so stupidly overprotective of him… I thought you would want to…" He shook his head. "Never mind. Let's go."

Seto walked Yami to the car and held the door open for him. Then the two drove away in silence as Yami stared straight ahead through the spotless windshield, thinking about absolutely nothing at all.

**456456456**

Bakura slapped Malik on the back of the head. "Idiot! Kaiba's starting to suspect! You've got to act more like the Pharaoh!"

The blond rubbed his head – which still hurt a little, even after the aspirin, and Bakura's abuse certainly didn't help any – and glared at the white-haired teen. "Ow. How am I supposed to know how the Pharaoh acts? I'm doing the best I can!"

"Well you should've known better than to blow off Yugi. He fawns all over that little shrimp, even Kaiba knows that."

Malik huffed. "So I forgot one minor detail. I don't see you doing any better."

"Give me the Rod and I'll show you."

"Like I'm falling for that!" Malik crossed his arms across his chest – taking the Sennen Rod with them – and glared at Bakura. The two had retreated to Bakura's bedroom and locked the door, the white-haired male telling Ryou that he and Malik had 'business' to attend to and not to bother him. There was no telling what Ryou thought about this, though the way he raised his eyebrow at the pair of them when a still half-naked Bakura dragged the blond into his bedroom gave Malik a pretty good idea.

Actually, as pathetic as it sounded, Malik didn't mind if people thought he was sleeping with Bakura. It made him feel like he belonged to the former tomb robber, at least a little bit, and Malik was desperate enough to settle for anything he could get as far as Bakura was concerned.

Being reminded of it sure did tick him off, though.

"Blondie, I can't see!" Bakura whined.

"I don't care. Shut up." Malik glared at the other long and hard, sure to make his annoyance known. "Quit snapping at me and you better not hit me again or I'm calling this whole thing off."

Bakura narrowed his eyes. "Quit screwing up and I'll quit snapping at you."

Malik let out a low hiss and didn't respond, simply staring at Bakura until the other finally sighed. "Fine. Sorry. Now dammit let me see!"

"If we'd followed them like _I _wanted to you'd be able to see just fine," Malik answered loftily, but moved the Sennen Rod so Bakura could touch it. He wrapped his hand around Malik's and the blond's stomach fluttered at the touch before he sighed and turned his attention back to the Pharaoh.

**456456456**

"This is nice," Yami commented, glancing around at his surroundings. Seto had taken him to a park, mostly secluded at this time of morning, and the two walked hand-in-hand until they reached a pond with various benches placed around the perimeter.

They chose a bench and Yami immediately crawled up into Seto's lap and placed the brunet's arms around himself, burying his face in Seto's neck and kissing it for a bit until he heard a promising-sounding sigh. "I'm… glad you like it," Seto said. "I thought we could go for lunch later."

"Mmm," Yami assented, his trail of kisses progressing steadily upward along the other's jaw.

Seto's breath hitched and Yami could feel the brunet shifting uncomfortably beneath him, so he squirmed, smirking to himself when Seto stifled a low moan. "Al…alright, let's slow down now," the brunet said with some difficulty, pushing Yami back and attempting to get the smaller male off his lap.

Instead, Yami lunged forward and planted a kiss directly on Seto's lips, wrapping his arms around Seto's neck when he felt the other protest, until the brunet melted into the embrace, the kiss steadily growing more heated until Seto slid his hands under Yami's shirt. But the moment his hands came into contact with Yami's skin Seto seemed to snap back into awareness and he broke the kiss. "I mean it. We need to stop," he gasped, gently lifting Yami and settling him onto the bench beside him.

"Why?" Yami panted, gazing up at the other through wide crimson eyes. "You love me, don't you?"

"I said it, didn't I?" Seto replied, rather peevishly. "But that doesn't mean we have to paw all over each other all the time."

The spiky-haired male smirked up at Seto and began tracing the curve of the brunet's arm with the tip of one long, slender finger. "It's fun, though," he purred.

"Yami…" Seto sighed and lifted his arm, draping it across Yami's shoulders and allowing the smaller male to curl up against his side.

"Don't you want to be with me, Seto?" Yami murmured.

"Yes."

Yami waited for the other to make a move, but he never did. Instead the pair remained in the same position, seated on the bench and staring out at the pond, Yami curled against Seto while the brunet's fingers lightly stroked his back.

**456456456**

Meanwhile, closed up in a dark bedroom somewhere on the other side of the city, Malik sighed.

* * *

**A/N:** Ah but Malik's quite the drama queen, isn't he? There was a lot of him and Bakura in this chapter, but don't worry, Seto and Yami are still our main players.

Projected length for this story is five chapters, just so you guys know. And I must say, I'm thrilled at the response it's gotten so far; it's nice to know I'm still loved even though I haven't posted anything in awhile, lol. Thanks for reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:**I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

**A/N:** Well, here we are in chapter three. I have to warn you of angst ahead, though it's balanced out with generous doses of humor. And since I've been asked about it, yes this story does have a happy ending, for everyone. I can't let them stay in misery forever, can I?

Thanks for all the wonderful responses and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 3

"This is boring."

Malik ignored the other's comment, focusing his concentration on Yami and Seto and working to keep control of the Pharaoh's mind. It was growing progressively harder the longer this date with Kaiba continued.

Bakura sighed. "This is _really_ boring."

Malik closed his eyes and forced Yami to lean up and give Kaiba a kiss on the cheek.

"That's all you're going to do? They're not doing anything; this is really, really—"

"Shut _up_ Bakura! I'm trying to concentrate and you're not helping!"

"Stop concentrating and start _doing_ something. I have better ways to spend my time than watching a couple of pansy-ass losers cuddle on a park bench."

"They're not… Oh for god's sake, shut up. I'll try again. Kaiba's not making this easy, you know." The blond sighed and closed his eyes again, waiting for inspiration to strike.

**456456456**

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes!" Yami cried, leaping up in excitement. He grabbed Seto's hand and pulled the other up after him. "Come on; let's go get something to eat!"

Seto raised an eyebrow but followed.

When they climbed back in the car, however, Yami didn't give his date the opportunity to start the car – much less put on his seatbelt – before he was straddling Seto's lap again, kissing him and fiddling with the lever to lay the seat back. "Mmph!" The brunet let out a muffled grunt of surprise; though after a moment he threaded his fingers through the soft hair at the back of Yami's head. The shorter male thought Seto was reciprocating and smiled into their kiss…

…Only for Seto to yank harshly on his hair and jerk his head back.

"Ow!" Yami yelped and grabbed his injured head, batting the brunet's hands away. "What was that for?" He caught sight of the other's annoyed glare and his eyes began to tear up at the expression. "Seto…"

"It was the only way to get you off of me."

Yami stared blankly at the other for a moment before asking in a flat voice, "What is that supposed to mean?"

Seto sighed and guided the smaller male back to his seat – well, more like pushed him into it, since Yami didn't want to move. Then he adjusted the hair that Yami had mussed and replied, "Look Yami, I like you, but I'm not stupid. You shouldn't be so obsessed with…"

The brunet paused, looking a little embarrassed, so Yami stretched out a hand to comfort him, gently rubbing up and down the other's arm. Seto jerked his arm away. "It's too easy. I should have had to _work_ a little. But instead you're just…" He glanced over at the shorter male, who just looked up at him and smiled sweetly.

Seto scowled. "_What_ is going on with you?"

The now-familiar emptiness in Yami's mind seemed to clear a little and he opened his mouth to say something, but forgot what it was before the thought made it to his lips. Instead, a moment later he replied to Seto, "I don't know what you mean. I just want you."

Blue eyes flashed warningly in his direction. "I don't feel like putting up with any of your stupid games. Stop lying to me!"

The emptiness faded even more and a sharp pain prodded at the back of Yami's head. He winced. "I'm… not…"

"I'm not _blind_. I can _tell_ there's a reason you're pretending to like me. Are you trying to make someone jealous? That Yugi kid seemed upset this morning… is it him?"

"I'm not pretending! I… Seto…" The pain throbbed harder at the back of Yami's mind and he gripped his head in agony. "Ah! No… Aibou…"

Suddenly the pain disappeared; and with it the emptiness that had clouded his mind since the previous morning vanished as well, as if he had been submerged in deep water and finally hit the surface, taking his first gasps of air.

And Yami woke up.

**456456456**

"What the… Dammit Blondie, what the hell was that! Can't you even seduce someone right?" Bakura scowled and crossed his arms, the Sennen Rod lying forgotten on the bed, since it wasn't showing them Yami and Kaiba anymore, anyway.

"Apparently I can't," was the muffled reply. Malik sat curled up a few feet away, his knees pulled up to his chest and his face buried in his hands.

Bakura's expression softened a bit at the sight and he poked Malik in the side. "Aww, come on Blondie, no need to be like that. What happened, anyway?"

"He threw me out of his mind." Malik scooted out of reach of Bakura's fingers, his face still buried firmly in his hands. "He was too strong. I couldn't…"

"Hey, come on, it's okay." Bakura crawled over to the blond and attempted to tug the other's hands away from his face. "Come on, don't be like that. Look at me."

"But you said… you wanted…" Malik hunched over further and pulled his knees up to his chest once more.

"I was being an ass," Bakura replied cheerfully. "What else did you expect? You should know better than to pay too much attention to me by now."

Malik let out a weak chuckle from behind his hands.

"It was fun while it lasted anyway. We can find something else to entertain us – in fact; I've got a few ideas, if you'll just take your hands off your face." Bakura shot the blond a lecherous grin; which, of course, he couldn't see.

"Bakura," Malik let out a low sigh – which turned into a yelp when the white-haired teen leapt on him and pinned him down on his back. He gripped his face as hard as he could, praying that Bakura wouldn't pull his hands away and he'd get a chance to sneak out… before anyone noticed… "Get off me!" Malik shrieked.

"Mmm, what a pretty prize I've caught," Bakura purred. "A pretty little blond, all mine to play with." He began to lay a series of kisses along Malik's forearms, progressing toward his face. "What a lucky prize. He tastes so nice..." By this time Bakura's kisses had made it to his hands and Malik froze, hardly daring to breathe.

"What do his lips taste like, I wonder?" Bakura smirked wickedly. He grabbed Malik's hands and finally yanked them away – only to freeze in horror.

Malik's face was covered in blood.

**456456456**

Yami blinked slowly, lifting one hand to rub his aching head. What had happened? Had he blacked out? The last thing he remembered was walking to the grocery store…

He looked around and saw, to his surprise, that he was sitting in a car with none other than Seto Kaiba, who currently looked highly annoyed and was putting the car in gear with far more force than necessary. "Kaiba? What's going on?" Yami questioned. He must have blacked out on the way to the store, then. Had Kaiba found him?

"This date is over, that's what's going on," Kaiba snapped.

"Date?" Yami echoed weakly.

The brunet gave him a sharp glance before snorting and turning his attention back to the road. "I should have known it would be a mistake," he muttered.

"What… what was a mistake?" Yami asked softly. He was getting more confused by the second – what was he doing with Kaiba? And why was the CEO saying they had been on a date? Yami had a feeling he knew; that the answer was somewhere just under the tip of his subconscious… but he couldn't quite reach it…

"Loving you. Wanting you. Having anything to do with you." Kaiba snorted again. "I don't know why I thought you were different. All those speeches about caring about what happened to me; I knew they were just bullshit. But for some reason…" The CEO shook his head. "I should never have listened to you."

Yami stared. "Loving me…?"

"Whatever. Your loss." Kaiba fell silent, staring straight ahead at the windshield, his thick chestnut bangs falling over his eyes and hiding any hint of emotion lurking on his face.

Yami's head gave a violent throb and the ex-Pharaoh winced, rubbing his temples. He closed his eyes in an attempt to block out the pain – and flashes of the past twenty-four hours raced through his mind unbidden, chasing away the confusion with the unmistakable clarity of reality, the dismay at what he'd been forced to do hitting Yami like a thunderbolt. Visiting Kaiba in his office, Yugi's confusion, the date… passionate kisses shared with the brunet beside him…

Yami's face flamed. "Seto, it was Shadow Magic," he said softly. "The Sennen Rod… it had to have been. I must have broken free somehow, just now…"

"I don't believe in that garbage," the other replied, his voice flat. He didn't look at Yami.

The spiky-haired teen lowered his head, his crimson eyes staring blankly somewhere in the vicinity of his lap. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

Seto didn't answer and the two drove in silence for a few minutes, Yami still staring at his lap, not looking up until the car slowed and came to a stop in front of the game shop. He looked over at the brunet, but Seto still wouldn't even glance in his direction. "Kaiba…"

"Get out."

Yami opened the door and climbed out, but hesitated before shutting it behind him. "Seto," he tried once more, "I really am sorry."

At that the CEO finally met his eyes, in an emotionless blue-eyed gaze that would haunt Yami's dreams. "We could have been great, you know," he said simply. Then he looked away. "But never mind that now." He reached over and jerked the door shut before speeding away.

**456456456**

Bakura's eyes were very wide above him, so Malik cringed, turning his head as far as he could with the tomb robber sitting atop him and holding both his hands. No one had ever done it before, what the Pharaoh had done – throwing Malik from his mind with enough force to physically wound him. It had given him a monster headache and his nose started bleeding the moment he lost control.

Malik sighed. Now Bakura would make fun of him. And he certainly wouldn't want to fool around with him anymore; probably for quite a while now that he had seen the blond's face as pale and bloody as it must have been. Not a pretty mental image for the bedroom. "Bakura, please let me up," he muttered.

The other blinked and his eyes narrowed, but he didn't move. "Blondie, what's wrong with you?"

"When I lost control of his mind… mental stress… I guess…" Malik mumbled.

"_Pharaoh_," Bakura hissed. "I'll kill him!"

Malik whipped his head back in Bakura's direction. "Huh?"

The white-haired teen's eyes narrowed even further, into tiny slits, and he sat back and released Malik's hands – a bit of the Egyptian's blood transferring to his own pale fingers in the process. "I'll disembowel him. Cut off his arms and legs. Rip out his heart and show it to him. _Ryou, get in here_!"

The last sentence was said with a wall-trembling shout and Malik winced, far closer to the sound than he would have preferred. "Kura, what are you talking about?" he asked, wiping one hand on his cotton pajama pants while the other gingerly prodded at his tender nose, which still bled a little.

Bakura glanced back in his direction – he had been watching the door for Ryou – and his lips curved downward in a nasty frown. He lifted one pale hand and touched Malik's face again, seeming not to care when blood once again smeared red on his fingers. "He hurt you," Bakura said simply.

Their eyes met, Malik's wide with disbelief and Bakura's dark with some indeterminate emotion, and for a moment it seemed to Malik as if something passed between them, like they were on the cusp of something deep and profound; maybe, possibly, Bakura was on the verge of those deep feelings that Malik had been struggling with since shortly after they met, and if the moment could only last just that little bit longer it could change their relationship forever.

Of course, Ryou walked in.

"Oh gosh Malik, what happened?" he gasped, clapping his palms to his face in horror.

"Never mind that Ryou, I need you to—" Bakura began, but the other white-haired teen interrupted him, his eyes narrowing in an eerie resemblance of his yami as he pointed at Bakura.

"What did you do?" The accusation fell like a heavy weight, and Malik and Bakura sat in silence for a moment, unsure what to say. "You have blood on your hands, Bakura," Ryou continued, sounding dangerously calm.

All eyes turned to the tomb robber's hands. "What? You think I hit him? Ryou—"

"You know what, it doesn't matter. I know this is your fault somehow." Ryou advanced on the pair seated on the bed and grabbed Bakura's arm, dragging him off the mattress and whapping him on the back of the head as the yami stumbled across the floor.

"Ryou!"

"Don't lie to me Bakura, I know this is your doing and you're going to fix it. We're getting the first aid kit and you're going to bandage him up, and _then_ you're going to apologize."

The pair of look-alikes disappeared into the hallway as Malik watched them, unable to hold back a smile.

**456456456**

Yami stood on the sidewalk a long time after Seto left, trying to sort through his muddled thoughts. His memories from the day under the Rod's control were muddled and vague, like a half-remembered dream, and he was fairly sure he really shouldn't be able to remember it at all.

He had definitely made a fool of himself, that was certain. Fawning all over Kaiba like some lovesick schoolgirl – though Kaiba had proven to be rather lovesick himself. It must have been humiliating for him, realizing that Yami didn't really love him, especially after all that he had admitted feeling for the ex-Pharaoh. What a blow to think that the person you loved, who had confessed to loving you before you even reciprocated, hadn't ever really been in love with you at all.

It was certainly ironic. No wonder Kaiba wouldn't admit to believing in Shadow Magic.

But Kaiba's theory was even worse; thinking that Yami was playing cruel games with him and trying to make someone else jealous. That was just… well, cruel. Yami would never do something like that to Seto; he cared about him more than that, even if the CEO didn't want to believe it.

How much _did_ he care about Seto?

Well, that was the million-dollar question, if anything was. Unfortunately Yami didn't have an answer.

He sighed and trudged into the house, deciding to go lie down in his room and think things over. However, this was not to be, as the moment he opened the door he was immediately accosted by all of Yugi-tachi, saying their hellos and shouting random phrases that made no sense to Yami's overworked, muddled brain.

"Yami!"

"Yami's home!"

"Yami, we're here for you bud!"

"Yeah, you can count on us!"

"Don't let that rich jerk hypnotize you!"

"_Huh_?" At the last comment, Yami spun, confused, to look at the speaker – who turned out to be Jou, wearing a determined expression and holding a handmade banner which read _JUST SAY NO!_ in red permanent marker. "Er… what's going on?" Yami asked cautiously.

"We're your moral support!" Jou cried, throwing up a fist. "Don't fall for Kaiba's tricks, man. You're stronger than that!"

"Yeah, we believe in you!" Anzu chimed in.

"Um… what?"

Just then Yugi walked up and stood before him, his legs spread and his hands on his hips in a determined stance. "Yami, this is an intervention. We think there's something wrong with your relationship with Kaiba. It came out of nowhere; and he seems to have some kind of hold on you. It's unnatural."

"But Aibou, I…"

"It's no use denying it!" Yugi's enormous violet eyes welled up with tears and he poked Yami accusingly in the chest. "I can tell when something's wrong with you. I think Kaiba's using," his voice dropped to a stage whisper, "_Shadow Magic_."

Yami fought back the highly inappropriate urge to laugh. "Yes it was Shadow Magic but…"

"So you admit it!" Yugi cried. Shocked murmurs spread throughout the room.

"Aibou, please," Yami began, but the other interrupted him once again.

"That settles it! We're not leaving this room until you've broken his spell!"

"Aibou…"

"You can do it, Yami! We're all here, supporting you. We'll give you all the strength you need!"

"_Aibou._"

"We're in it for the long haul, Yami! I made a cracker tray, and Anzu brought drinks. We'll stay here as long as you need!"

"_Aibou!_"

"What is it, Yami?" the shorter teen finally asked, crossing his arms impatiently across his chest.

"It was Shadow Magic, but not Kaiba's. And I've already broken free of the spell."

Yugi blinked; then stared at Yami questioningly until the taller male nodded, reiterating his statement. "Oh. Um…" The room was silent for a long moment. "Want a cracker?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

* * *

Chapter 4

The light of the setting sun escaped through a crack in dark green window blinds, falling directly into the violet eyes of the teenage male seated on the bed and clad only in a pair of pajama pants with a dried bloodstain on one thigh. Blood also heavily colored the towel he held pressed against his nose to combat the bleeding that still hadn't quite stopped even after the better part of two hours of sitting with his head tilted back.

Malik sighed and shifted position to escape the sunlight, running a hand through his tousled, sweat-dampened hair. The nosebleed alone wouldn't have even been so bad, if it hadn't been for the headache, which felt like the worst migraine he'd ever had combined with someone holding a drill to his head. And maybe a hangover on top of that.

He groaned.

As if on cue, Ryou stepped inside after two brisk knocks on the door. "Hey Malik, how you feeling? You can take another aspirin now, if you want."

"I'll take anything to make this headache go away," he sighed, and Ryou chuckled.

"I thought you'd say that. Here, I brought the bottle. Don't take more than two." He held out the bottle and Malik quickly shook two into his hand, moving the towel momentarily aside so he could pop them into his mouth.

"Water?" he mumbled around the mouthful of melting pills.

"It's here." The white-haired teen handed Malik a glass, watching as he swallowed the medicine and silently taking back the water and aspirin when the other handed it to him. Malik expected him to leave afterward, but instead he sat down in the hard-backed chair beside the bed and continued to watch the blond as he prodded his tender nose, wincing and replacing the towel beneath it when it started to trickle blood once more.

"I called your sister."

"Huh?" Malik turned to Ryou, who regarded him solemnly through the big, innocent brown eyes that made him look so different than Bakura, despite all their other similarities.

"I called Isis and told her that you'd be staying here a while longer, since I doubt you're feeling well enough to wander the streets right now."

"Oh." That was strangely thoughtful. Malik supposed he had been hanging around Bakura so much that he forgot what it was like when people were actually nice. "Thank you. I'll be fine to walk home as soon as my nose stops bleeding. But since I don't know when that will _be_," he sighed, making a face, "maybe I'd better just crash on your couch again tonight."

Ryou shook his head. "No, you stay here. It won't kill Bakura to sleep on the couch for one night."

"Ryou…" Malik hesitated. "You should know, Bakura didn't do this to me. He may have…encouraged it a bit… but it was my own fault. I played a prank on the Pharaoh; I used the Rod on him and made him go out with Kaiba. I thought it would humiliate him but Kaiba actually _liked_ him… and then he broke the mind control and _this_ happened." He gestured toward his face.

"Ah." Ryou was silent for a moment. "I see."

Suddenly Malik felt about the size of a pea. Ryou stood and Malik jumped, shrinking down into the covers when the other laid a gentle hand on his forehead. "You have a bit of a fever," he murmured. "The aspirin should take care of that, though." Then he sat down on the bed beside Malik, staring thoughtfully in the direction of the wall before glancing at his blond friend. "Malik… you care a lot about what Bakura thinks of you, don't you?"

Malik shrugged and didn't meet his eyes.

"I used to be like that, too, but not because I liked him. He terrified me, actually. I used to think he was going to kill me, when he first came out of the Ring and didn't need to share my body anymore; so I tried to do everything just right, hoped that if I kept him happy he'd leave me alone… but trying to please him never worked. He would always get mad and complain anyway. I think he's stuck like that."

Ryou let out a soft chuckle and Malik grinned a little. "But then," Ryou continued, "after a while… I don't know, I guess I got a little braver, or maybe just dumber. But I quit trying to say the right things to him, or do things just the way he wanted… and he actually seemed to like me better after that. I know I like me better anyway."

With that he patted Malik on the thigh and got up, leaving the blond to sit in silence and mull over what he'd just heard.

**456456456**

"Kaiba Corporation, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Seto Kaiba, please. This is Yami Mutou."

"Mutou? You're not related to _the_ _Yugi_ Mutou by any chance, are you?" The female receptionist sounded rather breathless and Yami rolled his eyes, wondering if it was the same girl he'd met the other day.

"You could say that."

"Oh my… You know, I actually met him the other day! He gave me his autograph and everything; I'm such a fan."

Definitely the same girl. "You don't say. Is Kaiba available?"

"Oh, I'm sorry sir. Please hold for a moment and I'll see if he's able to take your call."

Soft music played over the line and Yami sighed, glancing furtively at the door to make sure Yugi had definitely left for school and wasn't anywhere close enough to eavesdrop. He couldn't say for sure why he was calling Kaiba, much less why he was hiding upstairs in his room with the door shut to do it. But Yami felt guiltier than he ever had in his life over leading the CEO on like he had, though technically it wasn't his fault. He had barely gotten any sleep the night before, burdened as he was with trying to sift through his jumbled memories of the past few days and trying to decipher what had actually happened – and to figure out just how he felt about it.

It had been nice. More than nice, actually; and frankly that scared Yami. He had known for awhile that he preferred his own gender, but to be honest he had never considered a relationship with his rival, never noticed him _that_ way at all besides a passing acknowledgement that the brunet was attractive. But being with Seto, kissing him, holding him, just knowing that the other cared for him… it felt good. Really good. And Yami couldn't help wondering what it would have been like for real.

"Are you still there, sir?" The receptionist's voice yanked Yami from his thoughts.

"Yes, yes I'm here."

"I'm patching you through to Mr. Kaiba's office now."

"Thank you."

Yami waited for a moment as soft music started playing again before the CEO answered. "Kaiba."

"Hello, Seto… it's me, Yami."

"I know. What do you want?"

Yami hesitated, suddenly feeling nervous, but plunged ahead with the speech he had been rehearsing in his head all morning. "I wanted to apologize again, and—"

"I don't want to hear your apologies," Seto cut him off. Silence fell over the line for a few excruciatingly long seconds before the CEO snapped, "Is that all? Because I'm busy, you know."

"Yes... I know," Yami answered quietly, trying to fend off his discouragement. "Seto, it wasn't intentional. I wouldn't… I wouldn't be that cruel. I was thinking about it all night last night, and it was the Sennen Rod, I know it was. I'm going to go have a talk with Malik today and find out what's going on. Do you… would you like to come with me?"

"Hn. I don't think so. I told you I don't believe in that ridiculous Shadow Magic junk you're always spouting. And how would the fact that none of it was intentional possibly make me feel any better?" the CEO growled, adding a moment later, "If I cared, which I don't."

"Please don't get so defensive," Yami sighed. "I know you care about me. And… and I was thinking about that, too, and I thought that maybe—"

"Don't." Seto interrupted once again. "I don't really want to talk to you right now, Yami."

He hung up.

**456456456**

When Malik finally opened his eyes around noon on Monday morning, he instantly groaned and shut them again at the pain that rushed in with the light on the other side of his eyelids. The blond fumbled around for the bottle of aspirin, and on finding it was empty dropped back onto the mattress and slung an arm over his eyes.

"Ryou! Could you bring me some more aspirin?" he called, the volume of his voice making him wince. He waited a minute, deciding to get up and look for some himself when there was no reply, but just before Malik could move he heard the door creak open and footsteps approach.

Keeping his eyes closed and rubbing the bridge of his nose in an effort to relieve some of his headache, Malik sat up, accepting the pill tablets and water thrust into his hand with a quiet "Thanks." He heard the chair at his bedside scrape as his visitor sat, and Malik sipped the glass of water, still rubbing his nose.

"I've been thinking about what you told me yesterday," Malik murmured. "You're probably right, though I don't know if I'd like myself more. I already tried to reform… I wanted to reform… but it didn't work. I didn't change at all; not for the better anyway."

A derisive snort at his side caused Malik's head to snap around fast enough to pop the joints in his neck. "You reform? Unlikely."

"Bakura!"

"What?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here, stupid."

Malik glared. "I know that, asshole. Where's Ryou?"

The white-haired thief returned Malik's glare with a raised eyebrow, leaning back and loosely propping an ankle of his jean-clad legs on one knee. He idly scratched his bare chest and tucked his hands behind his head before replying, "At school. Isn't that where they all go on Mondays?"

"Oh. Yeah. I forgot." Malik stared down at the almost empty glass in his hands and sighed. He had hoped to talk to Ryou again today; their conversation had left him with a lot to think about and he needed advice, or maybe just reassurance, something he doubted he would get from Bakura. But still… he _was_ the only one around… Malik turned slightly and looked at the other. "Hey Kura?"

"Hn." Bakura met his gaze through half-lidded eyes, a vaguely curious expression on his face. "Why don't you go to school like the others?"

Malik shrugged. "Don't want to; plus I lived in a cave my whole life so no one can make me since technically I don't exist. Anyway can I ask you something?"

"I suppose." Bakura's eyelids gradually drifted shut as he leaned further back in the chair.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?"

"Compared to me, you're a saint."

"Oh… okay." Malik wasn't sure what to make of that comment. He stared blankly at the glass in his hands and sighed; maybe he wasn't as ruthless as Bakura, but he'd done more than a few things that he regretted, to say the least. Sometimes the weight of his sins was too much for his shoulders.

"I shouldn't have done that to Yami and Kaiba," Malik said quietly.

"They'll live. A little suffering is good for character," Bakura drawled. "And don't take all the credit; I'd like to think our little experiment was a joint effort."

"But that's just it, Bakura! I don't _want_ people to suffer because of me!" The blond set down his water glass and rubbed his nose fiercely once again, not to nurse his fading headache but instead to hide the tears that prickled at the backs of his eyelids.

Beside him he heard Bakura sigh and lean forward; then, much to his surprise Malik felt long fingers start to trail through his sweaty, tangled locks. "You're not a bad person, Blondie. You're smart, your sense of humor is a million times better than the rest of those fucktards Ryou hangs around, and you're hotter than hell. Stop beating yourself up over something stupid."

Malik opened slightly watery violet eyes and stared at the face so close to his, a smile creeping across his tanned cheeks as Bakura started slightly, as if catching himself, and hastily slumped back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. "Bakura?"

"Hn. What is it Blondie?"

"Kiss me?" Malik asked hopefully.

"Are you kidding? When's the last time you brushed your teeth? That's foul." Bakura slouched even farther in his chair and closed his eyes.

The smile dropped off of Malik's face. "Oh. Right then. I'll just…" he trailed off, biting his lip, and the two into a long, weighted silence.

**456456456**

Frowning slightly, Yami knocked on the door to Bakura's apartment. He wasn't sure yet how angry he should be with the tomb keeper – and the tomb robber as well, since he had already been by Malik's apartment and his sister informed Yami that Malik had been with Bakura all weekend, so doubtless Bakura was involved in all this. Yami was willing to give Malik the benefit of a doubt, to let him explain before the former Pharaoh did anything in the way of retribution, but still fury burned hotly at the pit of his stomach, fueled by fierce disappointment after his conversation with Seto a few hours beforehand.

The tomb robber opened the door.

"Bakura—"

He slammed the door in Yami's face.

Yami stood frozen in surprise for half a second before he began pounding at the door. "Tomb Robber! Let me in, I need to talk to you!"

"Kura? Who's at the door?" At the sound of Malik's voice Yami pounded harder, not stopping until the apartment door swung open to reveal the blond Egyptian, looking much the worse for wear, bare-chested and with sweaty, tangled hair and dark circles under his eyes. Yami pushed aside fleeting thoughts of what the two might have been doing to make Malik look like that and took the opportunity to step past Malik and into the apartment.

"Malik. I need to speak with you."

The other looked away, confirming Yami's suspicions immediately.

"Why would we want to talk to _you_?" Bakura snarled, coming up beside Malik and crossing his arms threateningly across his chest.

Yami mimicked the gesture. "It's not a matter of what you want; it's a matter of what you did. Malik, I trusted you when you promised to change. I allowed you to keep the Sennen Rod, against my better judgment, and you betrayed me. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"_Allowed_ him? You arrogant—"

"Bakura! I can speak for myself." Malik turned violet eyes to Yami, who noticed much to his surprise that they were suspiciously watery. The blond reached down to the Sennen Rod tucked into the waistband of his cotton pajama pants and pulled it out, offering it to Yami. "If you want it, take it. I don't deserve it."

"_What!_ Blondie, you can't give it to _him_!" Bakura grabbed Malik's wrist but the Egyptian twisted easily out of his grip and stepped away.

"Don't ever grab me like that, Bakura." He glared at the tomb robber before returning his attention to Yami. "So I assume you figured out our prank?"

Yami raised an eyebrow. "Did you expect me not to?"

Malik shrugged. "I didn't really think that far in advance. Pharaoh… I'm sorry for what I did to you, but you should know… you're lucky. Kaiba really loves you, and that's hard to find." He gave a short, bitter laugh. "Just one more reason for me to be jealous of you, I suppose."

The hand that had been raised to take the Rod from Malik dropped, Yami's anger draining away to leave him feeling empty. All he could think was how sadly pathetic the tomb keeper looked standing there, fighting back tears with a bitter smile and a straight back. Had he done all this because he was jealous? Yami shook his head. "You have nothing to be jealous of, Malik. There's nothing between Kaiba and me. He's… he's made that quite clear."

Seeing that Yami wasn't about to take it, Malik lowered the Rod to his side and shrugged. "I wouldn't give up that quickly. I saw how he looked at you."

Yami's stomach flopped strangely. "Looked at me…?"

Malik shrugged again. "Like he wanted you. Like if you were a steak he would eat you. Like… he loved you." The blond ran his fingers through his matted hair and made a face when they caught in a snarl.

Yami pondered this for a moment, staring blankly at a spot on the wall until Malik shifting uncomfortably jarred him out of his thoughts. He cleared his throat. "Right. Well, tomb keeper, as long as you regret what you've done, I suppose I can be merciful." He ignored Bakura's derisive snort and turned on a heel, walking quickly out the door and not slowing until he reached the sidewalk, where he sighed and sank onto the first bench he came across.

Malik had given him a lot to think about.


	5. Chapter 5

Whew. I had so much trouble uploading this thing. Grr.

Anyhow, this was supposed to be the last chapter but it was turning out way too long, so I split it. This is pretty much the Bakura/Malik chapter, and the next chapter will be the last, where Seto finally comes back into the story and everything is resolved with those two. Thanks for reviewing!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

* * *

Chapter 5

Two days went by; then three; then four; and Malik made it to Saturday without looking at, talking to, or have any other sort of contact with Bakura. Thinking about him, however… that was a different story. He had left Bakura's apartment shortly after Yami on Monday, giving the tomb robber a curt goodbye, and gone directly home, where he had stayed holed up for the remainder of the week (except on Thursday when Isis made him go out and buy milk). Ryou and Yami had made him think, and Malik decided that he wasn't going to fool around with Bakura anymore. He was tired of degrading himself, and even if he never got Bakura's love he could at least have some self-respect. Therefore, he needed to separate himself completely from Bakura, at least until he got used to not being around him and lost the urge to throw himself shamelessly at the good-looking thief.

Malik sure did miss him, though.

Nevertheless, the blond was determined to stick it out. He would wait inside his house until he got over Bakura, no matter how long it took. And Malik _would_ get over him. He would. Really. Well, maybe.

However, as it turned out Malik never got the chance to find out, since an extremely loud knock sounded on his door at around eleven o'clock on the previously mentioned Saturday morning. Malik knew who it was instantly – no one else would ever knock _that_ rudely – and he paled, rushing back toward his room to hide at top speed. "Isis! Don't answer that—"

"Oh hello, Bakura. Looking for Malik?"

"Hn."

"He's in his room, just go on back."

Malik slapped his forehead. Damn Isis! And damn her for not letting him have a lock on his door. Maybe he could run into the bathroom and hide with the door locked until Bakura left… or he could hide in the closet, make them think he'd gone out…

"Hey."

Too late. Bakura stood in the doorway, looking sexy as ever in his black trenchcoat, slouched over slightly with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and a t-shirt reading "XXX STRIPPERS! Paint Stripping and Exterior Restoration" hanging loosely on his slim frame.

"Um… what are you doing here?" Malik crossed his arms self-consciously over his chest, noticing the way Bakura's eyes swept over his body. The blond wore faded jeans and a plain blue t-shirt that was a little too small and didn't quite reach his waistband. His shoulder-length hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the shorter bits around the front escaping and falling in wisps around his face.

Bakura took a few steps forward. "I like your hair like that." He reached up and brushed the loose strands from the other's face, causing Malik to step back, out of his reach, until the backs of his knees hit the bed. Bakura followed.

"Uh… thanks." Malik tried to step sideways but Bakura stopped him, wrapping his arms around Malik's waist and drawing him flush against him, grinding their hips together until Malik gasped. "Stop it Bakura! My sister is right there!" He pushed against Bakura's chest until he managed to break them apart.

Bakura grinned and stuffed his hands back in his pockets. "Let's go back to my apartment then; Ryou's gone off somewhere."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Malik snapped.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Geez, what's got you all pissy?"

Malik just shrugged and looked away – then immediately wished he hadn't when Bakura took the opportunity to grope him and attach his lips to Malik's neck. "Are you mad because I wouldn't kiss you the other day? That's easy enough to make up for," the thief murmured, and set about placing a series of sweet kisses along the base of Malik's throat.

Malik lost most of his resolve right then and there. But still, somehow he summoned his dignity and shoved Bakura away. "I mean it, get off!"

Bakura leered. "I was trying to." He laughed when the blond scowled at him and he raised his hands in surrender. "Aww, come on. I'm bored!"

"Then go jack off and leave me out of it," Malik retorted.

"Fine, I get it; you're not in the mood. But let's do _something_, anyway," the tomb robber pleaded, looking at Malik with his best imitation of Ryou's innocent eyes.

"I already told you I'm not going anywhere with you. Now go _away_!"

"Come on Blondie, don't be like that," Bakura whined. "I promise it'll be fun; we can break in rich people's houses and you can freeze them with the Rod while we steal all their stuff in front of them! Or see how much we can take in thirty seconds, or something."

"Well…" Malik hesitated. "Yeah, alright then."

**456456456**

"Yami, you want some more soda? Yami? Hey, Yami!"

A hand waving in front of his face brought the spiky-haired teen back to reality and he blinked, glancing up into Yugi's enormous worried eyes. "Oh… No thank you, Aibou, I'm fine." He smiled weakly and Yugi gave him a suspicious look before going off to refill his own glass. The shorter teen had convinced Yami to go along with him and the rest of Yugi-tachi to Burger World for lunch, stating that he was tired of Yami 'sitting around the house and moping.'

However, it seemed he couldn't avoid 'moping' wherever he was. Yami just couldn't get his mind off of Seto. He knew that Malik was right and that Seto couldn't possibly just stop caring about him so fast, no matter how hurt or angry he was, and though Yami couldn't help being frustrated that Seto insisted on blaming him, he still wanted more than anything for the CEO to forgive him and let them start over, to give Yami another chance to be with him.

Yami had finally figured out what he wanted. Unfortunately it was too late for him to have it.

"Yami man, are you sure you're alright? You really seem down," Honda commented from the other side of the booth.

Jou took advantage of his friend's momentary distraction and snagged one of his French fries. "Heh, at least he's not still hung up on Kaiba. That was scary," he chuckled through a mouthful of food.

At that Yami's head snapped up, his crimson eyes blazing dangerously. "And what exactly is wrong with liking Kaiba?"

Jou and Honda's eyes widened and they glanced at each other before grinning weakly. "Er… no offense. Heh…" Jou stuttered.

Yami frowned and opened his mouth to retort, but a soft hand on his shoulder stopped him. Anzu smiled up at the former Pharaoh from her position between him and the window and squeezed his shoulder. "Jou didn't mean anything by it. It would just be strange for you to have a crush on Kaiba; you don't seem like the type to like men, anyway."

The spiky-haired male slapped a palm to his forehead and groaned loudly. "How much more obvious do I have to make it?" He stood up and gestured widely at his outfit – a silver, almost sheer, glittery long-sleeved shirt and skin-tight black pants, complete with two belts and a generous collection of shiny necklaces and bracelets – then stomped out of the restaurant.

Anzu blinked after him. "Is Yami saying he's gay?"

Honda gasped and grabbed Jou's shoulder in a death grip. "Yugi dresses that way too! Does that mean…?"

"Hey guys, I'm back with the soda! Where'd Yami go? …Guys?"

**456456456**

"A truly excellent haul, Blondie, truly excellent," Bakura proclaimed gleefully, examining his trenchcoat pockets as he and Malik hid in an alley to inspect their loot. "You didn't do too bad for yourself, either," the tomb robber added, glancing at the ropes of pearls around Malik's neck.

"Yeah," the blond sighed and fingered his necklace. "I'll have to get rid of them though, or Isis will notice. I'd give them to her for her birthday but she'd know…" He shrugged. "Guess I'll just sell them."

"Nothing wrong with that." Bakura finished counting his treasures and straightened, looking over to where the other leaned against the brick wall. "We'll both be eating steak for a month."

Malik's face fell noticeably. "I'm a vegetarian."

"A what now?"

"I don't _eat_ meat, Bakura. If you paid any attention to me at all you would know that." He pushed off from the wall and started to walk away, but Bakura grabbed his arm and forced him back before he could even take two steps. The white-haired male braced both hands against the wall by Malik's face, pressing his entire body against the blond's and working a knee between Malik's thighs.

Bakura grinned. "I pay plenty of attention to you, baby."

"Baby? _Baby?_"

Bakura's incredibly sexy, intoxicatingly warm body was pressed so close to his, so enticing, so inviting… but for once Malik didn't feel the least bit aroused. Instead he was angry. Furious. He shoved hard against Bakura's chest, sending the other reeling back and nearly toppling to the ground. "So it's 'baby' now? What happened to Blondie? You might as well call me jackass, or idiot since that's exactly what I am for putting up with _you_!"

"Blondie, what the hell?"

"Stop it! Just shut up!" Malik shrieked, close to hysterics now. "I'm tired of putting up with you. You ignore me and treat me like crap; then hit on me whenever it's convenient! I'm _sick_ of it! Don't ever touch me again!"

"Blondie…"

"Don't talk to me either! I hate your stupid nicknames! I'm not your _baby_, or some brainless blonde Barbie doll for you to use and throw away. Just leave me alone!" Malik crossed his arms and glared at the other, who was staring at him in wide-eyed wonder, his mouth hanging slightly open. The blond huffed and started to walk away once more.

"Malik…"

"What?" he snapped, not turning around.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

**456456456**

Yami stood on the sidewalk outside Burger World for a few long minutes, his head bowed and hands shoved uncharacteristically into his pockets. Maybe Jou was right, and it was bizarre for Kaiba and him to want to be together. After all, it certainly wasn't as if it had been easy for them to do it – just constant misunderstandings and embarrassments rolled into one big misery.

It sure was nice while it lasted, though.

Was it really fair for Yami to even think this? He never touched Seto of his own volition; in fact he could barely remember what it felt like to kiss him… like the ghost of a touch in a faint and distant dream… but that just made him want it all the more. He wanted, _needed_ to know how Seto really felt, to know the touch of warm hands that were so cold to everyone else. Perhaps that was selfish, but Yami didn't really care anymore. After that failed attempt to call Seto and his rather disturbing confrontation with Malik Yami had done nothing but brood, stuck in a weird sort of limbo while he tried to figure out what to do about Kaiba.

Though really, Yami decided as his feet started to move on their own and he caught sight of the gleaming KaibaCorp building in the distance, he had probably known what he wanted all along.

**456456456**

Malik froze at the question; then whirled to stare at Bakura in disbelief. "Breaking up with you? _Breaking up with you?_ We were never dating, you sadistic bastard!"

He glared at the white-haired thief, who stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and looked away, muttering something under his breath that sounded a lot like, "Well _I_ thought we were…"

The blond clutched his hair in frustration, tugging more wayward strands loose from his ponytail, and slowly counted to ten. "Bakura. We never _talk_. We don't go on dates. You hit on other people in front of me, for God's sake! I'm just your… your fuckbuddy. Probably one of many. How can we break up if there was never anything there?"

"That's not true!" Bakura scowled fiercely. "Have you _ever_ seen me screwing anybody besides you? Not that we ever got that far, anyway," he added sourly.

"You hit on Ryou last week!"

"Yeah and he slapped me for it." Bakura stepped forward, Malik stepping back to avoid him until his back hit the alley wall once again. "That was just a joke and you know it. He knew it too."

"Well it wasn't funny," Malik sulked.

"Blondie… come on now…" The tomb robber had Malik cornered now; he raised his hand to touch the other's cheek – and suddenly his own hand swung around and punched him in the face. "OW! Dammit what the hell was that for?" Bakura rubbed his sore jaw and scowled at Malik, who held the Sennen Rod at his side with a smug smirk.

"I told you not to touch me," Malik replied, his smirk widening as Bakura's right leg hooked his left ankle and sent the thief toppling to the ground.

"But— Ow! Dammit, stop!" Bakura cringed as his left hand started pulling his hair while his right clawed at his face. "You're leaving scars!"

"It didn't even break the skin. Stop being such a baby," the blond snorted, but gave Bakura back control of his body.

He immediately wished he hadn't when the tomb robber used the opportunity to sweep his leg under Malik's feet and bring him down on the ground beside him. Bakura rolled and pinned the other down, lying flush against him with one hand holding both Malik's wrists above his head. "You evil little bitch," he purred in Malik's ear, pausing to lick the delicate skin just beneath his earlobe. "Don't break up with me."

Shaken from his moment of frozen shock, Malik bucked wildly, nearly managing to dislodge the other until Bakura lifted himself slightly and sat firmly atop Malik's hips, silky strands of his snow-white hair tickling Malik's cheeks as he leaned over him. "We're... We're not together," the blond panted, "you stupid… crazy…"

"Please?"

Malik stopped struggling instantly and stared up at the other in disbelief. "What?"

"Please don't break up with me." Bakura repeated the sentence, rather sullenly. He let go of Malik's wrists, though he stayed seated atop the blond, and crossed his arms sulkily across his chest, obviously not liking what he'd been reduced to.

Malik sat up slightly, leaning on his elbows. "But we're not… We were never… Kura… Why?"

"I mean, I like you. You're an evil, psychotic little bitch, even if you do try to act like stupid Ryou-tachi sometimes. And I like touching you. I don't want to stop. So. Whatever." Bakura looked off to the side, as if the alley walls had suddenly become extremely interesting.

Malik bit his lip, hesitating, before he allowed himself a tiny smile. "Hey Bakura?"

"Hn. What is it Blondie?"

"Kiss me?"

The brick walls of the alley were suddenly much less interesting. Bakura looked down at the blond pinned beneath him, Malik's smile widening as he wrapped his arms around Bakura's neck and drew him closer until their lips met in a slow, sloppy kiss, which quickly degenerated into something much less chaste as the tomb robber shoved him hard against the ground and slid his hands under Malik's shirt in search of his nipples, his mouth breaking away from the blond's to work on a hickey at the base of his neck while his hands continued to wander.

As far as Malik was concerned, it was perfect.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

* * *

Chapter 6

When Yami stepped into the spacious, shiny, glass, metal and tile lobby of the KaibaCorp building he held his head high, hoping that this time he could breeze right through into Seto's office without any hassle. However, the burly guards standing next to the elevators with their arms crossed and scowling changed his mind, and he stopped at the receptionist's desk instead.

"I need to speak with Seto Kaiba, please."

"Do you have an appointment?" the mousy-haired girl asked automatically, scribbling on a sheet of paper.

"No, but it's very important."

The girl looked up at that, her entire face lighting up when she recognized Yami. "Oh! Mr. Mutou!" she exclaimed gleefully, before she apparently remembered something and the smile dropped off her face. "Oh… I'm sorry, sir, Mr. Kaiba specifically said not to let you in to see him."

Yami looked away, clenching his fists in frustration. "I see."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault," Yami sighed and glanced back at the woman, who was biting her lip. "I just really needed to talk to him." He frowned. Maybe he could wait until Kaiba got off and ambush him at the door… or maybe go to his house and convince Mokuba to let him in so they could talk…

"Well…" the receptionist hesitated, "I could try the intercom… just to tell him you're here…" She gave Yami a weak smile and pressed the button on the phone beside her. "Mr. Kaiba?"

"Yes."

"Um… you have a visitor… Mr. Mutou is here to see you."

The CEO's low growl could be heard even over the staticky intercom. "I told you not to let that liar in this building! I don't have time to put up with petty nuisances."

Her eyes went wide. "He uh… he says it's important sir."

"I don't care what he—"

Kaiba's reply was cut short, since Yami in a sudden burst of fury leapt half over the desk and knocked the receptionist's hand away, slamming his own palm down on the intercom button nearly hard enough to bruise. "I am _not_ a liar, you stupid bastard! And I wouldn't be bothering you at work if you would lower yourself enough to take my phone calls!"

"Why would I want to take your calls?" Kaiba sniffed.

"Hmm, let me think," Yami snapped. "Maybe because you—"

"Don't even say it, Yami! Don't you dare cause a scene in my company headquarters."

"You're giving me no choice, Kaiba!"

"Bullshit. There you go, lying again."

"Stop calling me a liar! If anyone's a liar here it's _you_!"

"Confusing our words, are we? A 'liar' is a person who tells another person something, possibly something important, knowing that the something the first person told the second person is false. Hence it is a lie. Hence, the first person is a liar. Therefore it is obvious that the term 'liar' couldn't possibly pertain to myself, so it must be referring to you."

"I…" Yami blinked. "Okay Kaiba, I have no idea what you just said, but stop being so immature and just let me talk to you!"

"I don't speak to liars."

"Stop calling me that!" Yami gritted his teeth in frustration. "I've never been anything but honest with you. You're the one not being honest with _me_!"

"And how did you come up with that assessment?" Seto retorted dryly.

"Because you said you loved me and you took it back!"

The lobby went silent, Yami's heaving, angry breaths echoing through the open space as Kaiba's various employees who had been milling around the lobby stopped and stared at him. For a long time Seto didn't reply, and just when Yami was starting to think he never would and slid back to his feet, the CEO's staticky voice sounded quietly through the intercom.

"Send him up."

**456456456**

"After you, Malik." Bakura made a wide, sweeping gesture and bowed, stepping aside to let Malik walk ahead of him up the stairs to his and Ryou's apartment.

Malik sighed. "Stop doing that!"

"Doing what, Malik?"

"Saying my name like that!"

"But Malik, I thought you wanted me to call you Malik. I thought you 'hated my stupid nicknames,' Malik."

The blond ground his teeth together and clenched his fists to keep them from twitching towards his Sennen Rod, finding himself slowly counting to ten for the second time in as many hours. "God, you're so annoying," he muttered. "I _meant_ I hate degrading nicknames, like baby. I guess you can call me Blondie sometimes… or whatever… as long as it's not an insult."

Malik stopped outside the door to Bakura's apartment and immediately long arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him close to a warm body before one hand slipped from his waist to brush aside his hair and make room for lips on his neck. "Why would I insult my pretty little blond toy? It's so much fun to play with."

He bit down hard on Malik's neck and the other yelped in shock before he turned around and punched Bakura in the face. "That's exactly what I mean! I'm not your toy!" Malik huffed, crossing his arms across his chest and sticking his nose in the air.

"That hurt, dammit," Bakura mumbled sulkily, rubbing his cheek. But he latched on to Malik's wrist with one hand so he couldn't get away before he opened to door to his apartment.

"…and then they just started asking if I was gay, right out of the blue like that! It was the weirdest thing, Ryou, I swear."

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"With what?"

"Being gay."

"Well, no… it's just…" Bakura had stopped in the doorway, so Malik peered over his shoulder, his eyes widening when he saw Yugi sitting hunched over beside Ryou on the couch, his elbows resting on his knees and his chin propped atop his clasped fingers. Ryou rubbed his back in a soothing sort of way as the short, spiky-haired teen continued. "It's just… it was out of nowhere. Yami disappeared and then everybody just went crazy, babbling something about my clothes and asking me if I was gay. I couldn't make any sense out of them so I came here."

"Well?" Bakura spoke up from the doorway, giving the two on the couch an evil grin when they 'eeped' and spun in his direction. "Are you?"

**456456456**

Taking a deep breath, Yami pushed the half-open door to Seto's office wider and stepped inside, his eyes immediately focusing on the brunet seated behind the elaborate mahogany desk, whose cerulean eyes glowed even brighter under the dull blue glare of his computer screen. Yami had hoped that Seto would look bad – at least tired, pale, puffy eyed, anything that might hint he'd been suffering after losing Yami. But of course he didn't; the CEO looked spectacular and unruffled as always in a charcoal black suit and silver tie that brought out the hints of red in his thick chestnut hair.

Yami cleared his throat. "Seto."

"Hn." The other continued to type something on his computer, his expression unwavering. He didn't look at Yami.

"Look… I didn't come here to apologize, though I really am sorry you ended up hurt. I just—"

"Good, because I'm tired of your apologies," Seto rudely interrupted. "They're getting beyond redundant."

Yami sighed. "Could you please just let me finish? Like I said, I'm sorry you got hurt, but I'm _not _sorry that this happened. I—"

"Changing our tune now, are we? I guess you saw meaningless apologies weren't getting you anywhere so you decided to try something else," Seto sneered.

"I talked to Malik, and he made me realize that this prank with the Sennen Rod, even though it was wrong of him to do, turned out to be… well, a blessing in disguise, I guess, because—"

"You do realize that is pure crap, don't you? You're totally insane. And I think you should leave now, because we have nothing else to talk about."

"We might if you would stop interrupting me!" Yami snapped, the Wadjet Eye appearing briefly in the center of his forehead and shadows whirling around him as he walked behind Seto's desk and spun the CEO's office chair so that he was forced to look Yami in the eyes. The shadows swiftly dissipated, leaving the ex-Pharaoh somewhat drained, as they tended to do these days now that he didn't have the Puzzle anymore. "Seto, will you listen to me, please?"

"Hn." The brunet turned his head and attempted to spin his office chair back to its previous position, but Yami grabbed the armrests and held on tight.

"Please?"

Blue eyes met frustrated but patient crimson and Seto nodded once. "Fine. Say whatever it is you have to say. Then get out of my office."

"Seto…" Yami let out a low, low sigh. "Shadow Magic is real. You've seen it yourself – you saw it not two minutes ago. I know you believe in it and you're just angry that it was used against you. I'm sorry that happened, but I'll never be sorry for what came out of it. You told me you loved me… and it felt _right_. When we were together… it was so _good_… I don't want to lose that. I guess… I guess what I'm trying to say is, will you give me another chance? Please?"

He had leaned closer as he spoke, tilting his face until it was mere inches from Seto's, until he could feel the other's warm breath against his lips. "Give _us_ another chance," Yami murmured.

Seto raised his chin, merely a hair's breadth from Yami's now, and a dry smirk spread across his features.

"No."

**456456456**

When Yugi just stared at him open-mouthed and didn't answer Bakura snorted and tugged on Malik's arm. "Come on, Blondie, let's go to my room and leave those two _alone_." He leered suggestively and for a moment Malik was tempted to laugh, but he quickly stifled the urge and wrenched his arm from Bakura's.

"I don't think so. I'm still mad at you, you know," the blond sniffed.

"Argh! Goddammit _why_?" Bakura whined and tried to slip his arm back around Malik's waist, but the other slapped it away and moved over to sit in an armchair beside the couch.

"Kura…" he sighed. "We have a lot to talk about if we're really going to make this work." He glanced over at the two seated on the couch. "Maybe we should discuss some things now, while Yugi and Ryou are here to mediate."

Yugi's eyes, already abnormally large, threatened to pop out of his head and Ryou covered a smile. Bakura merely rolled his eyes and plopped down on the arm of Malik's chair, wrapping his arm around the Egyptian's shoulders. "Fine, whatever," he agreed. "Make it quick, though."

Bakura's hand made its way underneath Malik's shirt and Malik shoved him away, flushing. "You go sit over there!" He pointed to the couch and Bakura made a face but stomped across the room, yanking on Yugi's arm and tossing him to the floor so he could sit by Ryou.

"Hey!" Yugi squeaked, but at Bakura's glare quickly scrambled to sit on the floor on the other side of Ryou.

"What's going on here, Bakura?" Ryou asked. He sounded like he was trying not to laugh.

The tomb robber crossed his arms across his chest and scowled, glaring at a random point on the rug. "Blondie's decided he wants to break up with me."

"We're not breaking up, Bakura," Malik sighed, rubbing his face in a frustrated sort of way.

"Whoa, since when were they even together?" Yugi asked Ryou in a loud whisper.

"I don't know, a while I think," Ryou shrugged. "But um… I thought it was more of a… ah… physical type thing."

"That's exactly it!" Malik sat up straight and pointed accusingly at Bakura. "You have to realize there's more to a relationship than fooling around! You've sent so many mixed signals I don't know what to think."

"What, you want me to spout lame-ass poetry like Kaiba and the Pharaoh? What the hell do you expect from me, Blondie?"

"Yami and Kaiba?" Yugi gasped, once again turning wide eyes to Ryou.

"I'll explain later," his friend whispered back, smiling down at him.

"I just want to not have to wonder about how you feel about me! And maybe go on a date sometimes, or something…" A painful lump rose in the back of Malik's throat and he had to look away.

"You know how I feel about you," Bakura responded quietly, after giving Yugi and Ryou a death glare to make sure they were properly intimidated. Then he sat silently for a moment, appearing to think. "Hey Malik?"

"Yeah?" the other croaked. Then, clearing his throat, he repeated, "Yeah?"

"If I…" the thief stared at him intensely, seeming to have trouble getting the words out the way he wanted. "If… If I agree to do all that… couples stuff… can we have sex?"

Despite himself, Malik laughed. "I don't see why not."

"Great! Let's go." Bakura jumped up and was across the room in a flash, dragging Malik by the wrist in the direction of his bedroom.

Ryou winced at the sound of a door slamming followed by a series of muffled thumps and a distinctive moan. "Ugh. You want to get out of here?"

Yugi's face was as white as a sheet and his eyes bulged frighteningly. "Please."

**456456456**

"No?" Yami let go of the chair's armrests and took a step backward in surprise. "But… you said a week ago that…"

"Maybe I changed my mind," Seto snapped, finally rising to his feet so he could stare down at the other with the full advantage of his impressive height. "You apparently did, so why can't I?"

"It's not the same!" Yami protested. "You can't just stop loving someone just like that!"

"Oh, but you can start, 'just like that?' Not a very strong argument for the King of Games. Your manipulative tricks are falling rather short this time," Seto spat.

Yami's eyes narrowed. "How long have you loved me, Seto?"

"I hardly think that—"

"_How long_?"

"I don't know."

"Seto…"

"I don't know! Okay? I don't know." The CEO turned his head and ran a hand through his hair, and just like that Yami had the upper hand again. "Maybe the first time I met you. It's hard to put my finger on it."

Yami reached out and gently touched the other's arm, smiling when Seto didn't immediately jerk away. "And you're saying that because I rejected you all those feelings just vanished? Like they were never there?"

At that Seto did yank his arm away, taking several steps backward to step out of range of the other's touch. "You did not reject _me_! _I_ rejected _you_! Who's the one following the other around begging him to take him back, you tell me that!"

"You can be nasty all you want Kaiba, it won't scare me away," Yami retorted, closing in on the other so that he stood close enough to smell the brunet's cologne. "You know what I think? I think for someone so proud you're acting a lot like a coward."

"What!"

"Think about it, Kaiba. You've liked me for how long? Years, maybe? But you never said anything… Heck, you never even _flirted_ with me, until I came up here and made a complete fool of myself with some over-the-top love confession. There was no way you would've been rejected. And _then_ you admitted how you felt about me. Admit it, you were scared."

"I was not!"

"It's true. You were afraid, paranoid, terrified, take your pick. The only time you would put yourself in a vulnerable position was when I was even more vulnerable than you… when you had a 100 percent guarantee that you had nothing to lose. And now when I come back, not saying I'm in love with you but asking for you to give this a chance, you do everything you can to push me away, in some kind of screwed-up power play. What is it with you trying to have the advantage all the time?"

"Yami," Seto growled warningly, but the other merely waved him off and continued with his monologue.

"No, I mean it! You've really taken this thing with trying to beat me too far. Do you realize you never kissed me once, even when I was throwing myself all over you? It was always me kissing you first – you wouldn't take the chance, even then. You're obsessed with having the upper hand. Are relationships too much for you? Is it too much for you to—"

His tirade ended there, as Yami found himself pleasantly distracted by the feeling of Seto's warm lips against his own.

* * *

**A/n**: And that's the end... Well, unless I decide to add an epilogue, which I may. Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed this so far, and thanks to my wifey who always likes everything I write, lol. I love you Rekall! - kisses - 


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** You guys wanted an epilogue, so here it is. Hope this ties up any loose ends, leaves you with that warm fuzzy feeling, etcetera.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.

* * *

Chapter 7: Epilogue

Now that Bakura had achieved his goal he made sure that everyone knew about it. This often included wide-eyed children and terrified strangers on the street who made the mistake of commenting on Bakura's swagger and cheery attitude, and would then be forced to listen to Bakura's detailed account of how hot his boyfriend was and the many times and positions in which they had sex. At first Malik was pleased by this, delighted at such an obvious confirmation of their relationship – and of course the term "boyfriend." Then it was amusing, seeing the shocked faces of strangers and Ryou's look of disgust when Bakura regaled him with his and Malik's latest exploits.

After two months, however, it was downright annoying.

Yugi was over visiting Ryou, as had become a more and more frequent occurrence, and Malik was watching the two play chess at the kitchen table when Bakura stumbled in, wearing nothing but a pair of plaid boxers and his hair sticking straight up in the back. "Mmm, mornin' Blondie," he yawned, walking over and kissing Malik lightly on the lips before hopping up and sitting on the table. "'Time is it?"

"About 11:30," Ryou answered, tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he moved his knight across the board.

"Damn Malik, how are you up so early? Figured you wouldn't even be able to walk after last night."

Malik flushed but before he could answer Yugi groaned loudly. "Eww! _Way_ too much information, Bakura. I don't see how Ryou stands listening to you two."

"Shut up, gaywad!" Bakura snarled, knocking over Yugi's pieces just to spite him.

"Hey! And I'm not gay, I like Anzu!"

"Yeah right," Bakura scoffed and turned back to Malik, ignoring Yugi's angry spluttering and Ryou's attempts to console him. "So how bout it Blondie? You really alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Malik responded shortly. He really _was_ a little uncomfortable but wasn't about to admit it.

"Man, my stomach is grumbling. Did Ryou cook?" The thief changed the subject, idly scratching his bare chest, but Malik frowned up at him.

"Why do you always do that?"

"What, eat?"

Malik rolled his eyes. "No, talk about our sex life. Are you really that immature?"

"Yes. And it's just that great. You're one sexy piece of ass, babe."

Malik flushed but was determined not to be deterred. "Thank you. But some things are meant to be private, you know."

Bakura yawned and made a halfhearted attempt to smooth the back of his hair. "I don't see why."

"Because it just _is_!" Malik sighed. "Look, Bakura, you made a lot of promises to me when we started this, and it's time you lived up to them."

"Like what?" Bakura still looked uninterested, craning his neck into the kitchen to look for any remnants of breakfast.

"Like… you promised to talk to me, for one."

"We're talking now, aren't we?"

"Well... I suppose." Malik bit his lip. "And you promised to take me on a real date."

"We go out all the time."

"Not just…" The blond glanced over at Ryou and Yugi, who had replaced Yugi's game pieces and resumed their game of chess, ignoring Bakura and Malik, and lowered his voice to a whisper. "Not just to steal things or some stupid petty vandalism!"

"What else is there?" Bakura drawled. "Ryou, I'm hungry."

"There are some muffins in the fridge," the white-haired boy responded, not looking away from the chessboard.

Malik reached out and laid a hand on Bakura's leg before he could hop down from the table. "I want to go on a real date; I don't know, a movie, bowling, dinner…"

"Dinner?" Bakura perked up at that. "Yeah, I could use a nice, juicy steak. Yeah, that could work…"

"Bakura," Malik sighed, "I don't eat steak, I'm…"

"A vegemarian, I know," the other interrupted him, waving a hand in dismissal before jumping down from the table and heading for the refrigerator.

Malik grinned. "Close enough."

**456456456**

When Seto had kissed Yami that day in his office the former Pharaoh thought all his problems were solved, and in a way they were – until two minutes later when Seto promptly kicked him out of his office, red-faced and declaring that Yami had tricked him again, somehow. Yami had merely sighed, shook his head, and caught the conveniently unresisting CEO's lips in another quick kiss before he left. He knew he was making progress, at least.

The next day Seto showed up at his door.

The next week Yugi-tachi caught them making out on the couch. Jou turned a rather sickly shade of green, and for some reason they all turned to Yugi suspiciously, causing the red-faced teen to throw up his hands and cry, "I'm not gay!" He then ran out of the house, and a confused Yami chased after him but quickly lost his partner – most likely thanks to Seto's "help," which consisted of following far too close to Yami and groping his butt at random times. The two soon returned to the couch to wait for Yugi's return – and enjoy themselves in the meantime.

The next month they made love for the first time, on Seto's bed in the broad daylight, door open for anyone who passed by to see, though luckily they didn't, and Yami smothered delighted laughter in Seto's shoulder and buried moans in deep kisses until they collapsed together, sated, and fell asleep under the one thin sheet that had survived the experience among the mass of soft blankets on Seto's bed.

The month after that, they had made love many more times and scared Yugi-tachi to the point where Jou's face was twisted in a mask of permanent horror – and Yami was beginning to feel dissatisfied.

"Seto?" he asked one evening while the brunet worked on his home computer and Yami lounged on the bed, watching him. "What are we?"

"Human beings. Well _I'm_ human. You're some crazy spirit with nothing better to do than ask me stupid questions while I'm working."

Yami made a face. "No… I mean the two of us. What would you call us?"

The other sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and paused his work long enough to turn and look at the spiky-haired male lying on his bed wearing nothing but one of Seto's old button-up shirts and a pair of bright red boxer-briefs. "You're my boyfriend. Lover. Significant other. Whatever. Is there a point to this? I'm fairly busy, Yami."

"Life partner?" Yami asked, grinning, and Seto cringed visibly at that. "Too soon?" Yami laughed lightly and rolled off the bed, padding over to where the brunet had turned back to his computer. He massaged Seto's shoulders gently, smiling when a soft groan escaped the other's lips. "You work too much."

"If you wouldn't distract me I'd be done sooner," the brunet retorted, but twisted his head enough to catch Yami's lips in a slow, languid kiss.

When it was over Seto turned pointedly back to his computer, signaling the end of the conversation. Rolling his eyes, Yami padded over to the bed and sank down once again, grudgingly returning to his prior activity of Seto-watching. Barely two minutes had passed, however, before he got tired of this and spoke again. "Hey Seto?"

The other groaned. "What is it now?"

"Why don't we ever go out? Like, on dates?"

"I think you remember how our last date turned out," the brunet replied stiffly.

"Oh." Their first and only date had been the trip to the park while Yami was under Malik's mind control. "Well… isn't that something we should work past then? If you're afraid something bad will happen we need to get over that—"

"Yami."

"Hmm?"

"If I agree to take you out will you shut up and let me work?"

"Yes, I suppose so, but you know that isn't a polite way to—"

"Fine. We'll go out to dinner tomorrow."

Surprised but pleased, Yami made a noise of agreement before settling back against Seto's pillows and closing his eyes, humming cheerfully under his breath.

**456456456**

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This is a nice restaurant and we have dress codes."

Bakura, who proudly wore boots, a pair of beat-up jeans and a black t-shirt reading "I used to be schizophrenic but we're okay now," merely smirked and handed the restaurant host a wad of bills. The man glanced at the money and sniffed, handing it back to Bakura with a disgusted expression. "This is a _nice_ restaurant, we don't take _bribes_ and the dress code requires a jacket and tie…"

"Malik," Bakura interrupted with a wave of his hand, and one touch of the Sennen Rod later the host's expression morphed into a cheerfully blank smile.

"Right this way sirs, we have an especially nice table set up for you."

**456456456**

"Oh Seto, this is nice!"

"It had better be, these reservations are a pain to get. I called early this morning and they were already nearly completely booked."

"Even for you?"

"Yes, even for me." Seto rolled his eyes as Yami grinned up at him and took his hand as the two entered the restaurant foyer.

"I just wish I didn't have to wear a suit," Yami sighed, tugging at his tie and making a face as the two of them stood at the end of a short line of people waiting to be seated. "Though I _do_ make it look good," he added with a wink. Seto and Yami wore matching black suits, Seto's with a blue tie and Yami's with a bright red one. Though nowhere near the former Pharaoh's usual style, Yami thought he pulled the look off quite well, managing to look graceful and elegant in the tailor-made outfit. Seto of course looked effortlessly wonderful, used as he was to wearing such attire to work every day. The CEO most likely would only have felt more comfortable in something involving a trench coat and lots of buckles.

"Reservation for Kaiba," the brunet said when they reached the host, who quickly checked the roster and granted the couple a polite smile.

"Of course, right this way, sirs."

Yami and Seto followed the man, talking quietly as they passed table after table of chattering people until they reached a table for two nestled in an alcove slightly out of the path of the other tables. "Here you… are…" The seating host's eyes widened and Yami and Seto glanced at each other in confusion – two people were already seated at "their" table.

"What are you doing here?"

**456456456  
**

Malik was giddy. There was no other word for it. Just… giddy, thrilled to be able to say that he was actually out on a date with Bakura, that the white-haired former tomb robber cared enough about him to take him out to dinner at a nice restaurant on a Saturday night. Never mind that neither of them bothered to dress up – possibly even worse than Bakura's jeans and t-shirt were Malik's skin-tight, shiny silver pants and red tank top with lined with silver sequins and rhinestones – or that they probably wouldn't pay for dinner; all that mattered was that they were together, that Bakura was taking him on a _date_ without even protesting all that much.

Though maybe he should have expected that, like all other good things in his life, this date was destined to take a turn for the bizarre. Almost before they had even sat down, while they were still studying their menus, a group of people approached the table and a loud gasp made Malik glance up from the menu. "What are _you_ doing here?" Bakura snapped.

Turning half in his seat and craning his head, Malik's eyes widened when he saw Seto and Yami standing behind him, looking confused, while slightly off to the side the seating host was wringing his hands. "Did… did someone seat you here? This is Mr. Kaiba's table…" the man murmured.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "Yeah, _you _put us here, genius. About five minutes ago."

"I… don't remember…"

Yami interrupted him. "Isn't there somewhere else we could sit?" Kaiba nodded curtly in agreement, though he kept his eyes on Malik, glaring fiercely at the blond Egyptian.

"No, I'm sorry; we're completely booked. There's at least an hour wait… I don't know how this happened, there must have been some sort of mistake. Ah… these gentlemen _do_ have a four-person table; perhaps you could share?"

At this Yami looked thoughtful, but Bakura – who had just taken a sip of his water – burst into a coughing fit and Seto shouted "No!" loud enough to turn several heads. "I'm _not_ sharing with… with _them_! I'd rather eat my own liver!"

"Believe me, Kaiba, the feeling is mutual," Bakura retorted dryly, having recovered from his coughing fit. He glanced at Malik – who had grown rather wide-eyed – and gave him a quick wink. "Besides, I think you're making my date nervous."

"_I_ make _him_ nervous?" the CEO spat through gritted teeth. "As I recall he's the complete psycho who tried to ruin my life!"

"Oh calm down, Kaiba, not everything is about you," Bakura returned. "If anyone has a right to complain it's the Pharaoh and he's already done that, besides I don't exactly see you suffering now."

"That's not the point! You can't just go around screwing with people's minds and thinking you can get away with it!"

"Watch me." Bakura's eyes narrowed dangerously as Seto took a step nearer, until he stood directly over the table, Malik at his left as he and Bakura glared at each other.

"Kaiba…" Malik began, but Seto interrupted him.

"I don't want to hear anything from _you_," the CEO snapped, flinging the back of his hand out dismissively – but as he did so his hand knocked into Malik's water glass. The near-full glass went flying through the air only to smack Malik in the forehead and drench his carefully styled blond hair and the front of his sparkly shirt.

"_Kaiba!_" Malik shrieked. "This shirt is dry-clean only!"

"Look what you did to my date!" Bakura snarled.

"If you hadn't stole my table this wouldn't have happened!"

"Why you…" The white-haired thief leapt on Seto, fists flying, only to receive a blow to the stomach as Seto punched him in return. Bakura kicked out and Seto tripped, grabbing the other's shoulders as he fell and sending the two of them sprawling into the table, which cracked under their weight, the sounds of snapping wood and shattering dishes echoing through the suddenly silent restaurant.

Two minutes later, the four were seated on the sidewalk outside.

"I can't believe they actually threw us out. Threw _me_ out!"

"Do you _ever_ shut up, Kaiba?" Bakura grumbled, tilting his head back so Malik could fuss over the growing purple bruise under his left eye. "Ouch! That stings, Blondie."

"Sorry." The wet-haired blond dropped a kiss on the sensitive spot before rising to his feet and tugging on the other's hands. "I'm soaked, can we go home?"

"Sure." Bakura stood and wrapped his arm around Malik's waist, kissing him on the lips when the blond raised his face expectantly. "Sorry your date didn't turn out the way you wanted."

Malik smiled and twined his fingers with the hand wrapped around his waist. "I think it turned out just fine."

"You know I bet if we go home early we can catch Yugi and Ryou making out or something. I _know_ there's something going on with those two…"

**456456456**

Smiling, Yami watched them go before turning back to Seto, who sat petulantly on the sidewalk muttering about bruises and his ruined suit. "They're kind of cute together, you have to admit," Yami mused.

Seto muttered something foul under his breath.

"Hey, Seto, are you okay? Bakura didn't hurt you anywhere, did he?" Yami began to run his hands up and down the other's sides, checking for cracked ribs or anything similarly damaging.

Seto caught his hands. "I'm fine. Just a few bruises." He gently pushed Yami aside so he could stand, wiping dust and grime from his expensive suit as best he could.

Yami quickly scrambled after him. "I'm sorry your suit was damaged… I shouldn't have made you come tonight. I don't need dates, really… It was a silly idea."

"No, it wasn't." Sighing, Seto gave up wiping dirt from his clothes and turned to look at Yami. He reached out a hand to brush the bangs from Yami's face and the other automatically leaned into the touch, letting the brunet's dusty hand cup his cheek. "It was something you wanted, so don't feel bad about it. I don't. Besides, it felt great to have a chance to hit that jerk; too bad I didn't get a chance at the other one."

Yami laughed. "Don't be so hard on them, Seto; after all, we wouldn't be together if it weren't for them."

"So you keep reminding me." With that the brunet turned and started walking in the direction of his car, though when Yami ran up behind him and slid his hand in Seto's, Seto gave it a light squeeze.

"So… Does this mean we can go out again?" Yami asked hopefully.

"We'll see."

"Really? Because I know this new Middle-Eastern style restaurant that I'd like to try. Oh! And I've always wanted to go to a play, do you think we can do that? Or maybe…"

Seto groaned.


End file.
